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GTG- High End Gear at Jonseys!


TP1

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Jonesy had a GTG at his new home yesterday. As it turned out , his gear loves the new place too because the sound was incredible. His system consists of Dynaudio Evidence Masters loudspeakers, Gryphon Colosseum Mono-block Power amps, Soulution 710 Preamp and EMM labs 2 box SACD player. This system is truly something to behold and it played every type of music superbly. Full scale orchestral sound was  presented on a massive scale  while the fans of Pink Floyd were similarly impressed with  "The Wall"

 

The system is the best I have ever heard  at someone's place and I suspect it will remain so for some time to come.

 

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Heavy concentration - or  are they sleeping?

 

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Rear view of the mighty Evidence Masters.  Despite appearances, these speakers cannot be bi-wired. The centre sealed unit houses the crossover 

 

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The Gryphon up close

 

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We also tried Tuyen's Coincident statement Linestage 

 

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This time around the $5k Coincident Vs the $40K Soulution results differed from the last GTG. The whole system synergy has improved incredibly in the new environment  since the last encounter.   Inserting the Coincident preamp did make some changes however . Most notably the sound stage opened up  more and seemed more spacious while the  tonal balance became a  more organic and a touch warmer. However, the Soulution had a perfectly acceptable tonal balance  and was resolving  more detail and was even faster than the Coincident. I expressed it like that because amongst a number of preamps I am familiar with ( in a similar price range to the CSLS) , the Coincident was ahead on speed and dynamics so the Soulution's performance was outstanding. 

 

So a big thank you to our gracious host Jonesy, who opened his new home to us yesterday. A sensational time was had by all.

Edited by Tasso
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Many thanks to Jones99 for the opportunity listening to his (anyone's dream) system yesterday! As for me personally, I could only dream to have a dream of having a system like his. So let I work on that winning 20millions lottery tix from here on. LoL!!!

The system sounded incredible great and there was not a thing that I could find flaw! At that ears' bleeding level, which I got a very post sore ears, bottom ends were so articulate and resolute with pure power that was actually impacting the audience. The resolutions and details at any level were extremely fine, so did the feel of presence sound stage... Simply loving it!

An official Photographer of the day!

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Some Lectures about high end Audio from experienced senior Audiophile!

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My dream setting the day I won 20 Millions lottery ticket!

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Not forgetting Linc for the lift to Jonesy place. A very long trip to and back, surely you must be exhausted. Cheers Linc!

Once again, I thank you for this eyes/ears opener rare opportunity.

Best,

Chanh

Edited: Apologies for poor quality iPhone 4 quality photos.

Edited by 24Bits
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Yes, it was certainly great to hear the system in the new room, which allowed it to express it self so well. As commented on, the bass  was outstanding, despite everyone, except the host, wanting to play music at ff+++++ levels. If the new preamp on its way is to improve what we heard yesterday, it will have a hard job. Shame we're going have to wait 2years or more to find out :( . Good Luck with your move Jonesy & Thanks once again.

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That is a very impressive system Tasso! yes.gif In particular the Gryphon Colosseum mono's & lovely Emm Labs stack are both outstanding at their respective price points. Also good attention to detail is evident with isolation and room treatments. The size and dynamic capability of a speaker system are important considerations in the size and scale of the sound they reproduce. That is simple physics, and the big Dyn's enjoy a natural advantage with their size and profile. How would the Magico S5's rate up against these old masters? I don't know. Actually it's not important since they appeal to different aspirations, and require different size rooms. What I do know? I'm impressed cool.gif

Edited by Bodhi
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Who are you calling senior??!! :confused::cool:

Those who didn't know the band "Portishead" it turns out!

It was a very interesting day. A very well put together system. Thanks to the Jones's for having the motley crew around for a listen. It was greatly appreciated.

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Cheers for hosting it Jonesy. Much appreciate you fitting the GTG in, just before you have to jet off to you next stint.    Got to say, now that the Dynaudios have room to breath (compared to your previous room), I thought the presentation was noticeably more evenly balanced. How much was due to the change to the Gryphon amps, I am not sure!   Track 2 from Tasso's Suite Espanola CD rendered a soundstage and projected a level of resolution and dynamics/impact of how I imagined it should be.  Impressive stuff.       Can't wait to see what's next after you get back home.

 

Also cheers Linc for driving,  Tasso for the muffins and all others for your company :)

 

PS. Portishead Live in NYC  rules!! lol

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Guest yamaha_man

Would love to hear big Dynaudio's with decent music. At the melb Hifi show for me they were the biggest disappointment, can't help but think it was the choice of music to blame.

Looks like a great system.

Well done.

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Would love to hear big Dynaudio's with decent music. At the melb Hifi show for me they were the biggest disappointment, can't help but think it was the choice of music to blame.

Looks like a great system.

Well done.

 

In Melbourne I think it was more than the music. The big Dynaudios are so accurate that  anything less than perfect  upstream will come through as that. As good as the Bryston amps are ( as used at the show)  , they are no match for  the Gryphon Colosseum monoblocks. They not only give tremendous detail and depth with phenomenal dynamics, but they do it with a smooth , sweet pure Class A sound.

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Guest yamaha_man

In Melbourne I think it was more than the music. The big Dynaudios are so accurate that anything less than perfect upstream will come through as that. As good as the Bryston amps are ( as used at the show) , they are no match for the Gryphon Colosseum monoblocks. They not only give tremendous detail and depth with phenomenal dynamics, but they do it with a smooth , sweet pure Class A sound.

Well if the Dynaudio vendor can't work that out maybe they shouldn't carry the brand. Nice to know at least someone here knows what they are doing.

Glad to hear these big boys sing!

Edited by yamaha_man
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Yupp, it was an outstanding system.  

 

The acid test for me has always been Pink Floyd played loud.  Domestic systems always fail to reproduce PF the way I think that it should be reproduced.  But the sheer scale, snap, control, openness, SPL's and head room was off the dial.  It reaffirmed my love for SS, very big speakers, and massive power amps.  It's also a first class example of what an accurate system can do. 

 

It was a great day.        

Edited by flemo
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Well if the Dynaudio vendor can't work that out maybe they shouldn't carry the brand. Nice to know at least someone here knows what they are doing.

Glad to hear these big boys sing!

 

The Dynaudio distributors were only using amps that they sold to power the speakers (They  are Bryston distributors too)  I guess they thought they could promote both brands in the one display. Other distributors did the same ( e.g. Marantz  amps driving Tannoys).  The practice was so prevalent there is little wonder so many displays got negative feedback on SNA.

Edited by Tasso
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Great day for sure the old Masters sure did come to life in the new room . Completely different sound to  my old room .The impact a room has on a setup is huge for a large floor standers

Apologies for the hurried setup and hangover I carried through the day. Great to chat and hear music at impressive SPL levels that left my ears ringing but boy put a smile on my face. The old EMs have gone to another level

The comparison between the mighty CSLS and 721 was a interesting one . I am sure there will be different views with personal preference the deciding factor. The rounded edge ,slower and smoothed sound of the CSLS or the ultra detailed ,fast and attack of the 721. Definitely no revelations for the Valve or SS fans. It was great to hear preferences from all attendees 

Hope to get back to Oz soon to rattle your bones again.  I will have  a new preamp and I will be keen to see how the old EMs compare to other marque brands of Rockport, Magico,Tad,Evolution Accoustics etc on my overseas work......yeah never know what I may bring home.....I do have my eye/ear on a pair of  Arrakis II  they would look good in that room ....not sure my floor is rated  for the 400kg though.

Will pass on my finding's of my adventure's

 

Thanks again for making the effort to come down and offer honest opinions .....it was an absolute shame dismantling the system when it sounded so good but bring on the new gear on the horizon

 

Cheers

Jones

Edited by Jones99
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Sorry I missed out on Part II of your GTG Jonesy, just a bit busy on the weekend.

 

Those big Dyns appear to be sitting in a much better space than last time, space all around it now including the ceiling height, I'm sure the raked ceiling helps too (like a large horn flare). So guys, is the system sounding a lot more 'open' than last time, just curious?

 

Steve.

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Sorry I missed out on Part II of your GTG Jonesy, just a bit busy on the weekend.

 

Those big Dyns appear to be sitting in a much better space than last time, space all around it now including the ceiling height, I'm sure the raked ceiling helps too (like a large horn flare). So guys, is the system sounding a lot more 'open' than last time, just curious?

 

Steve.

In a word "yes" ++++.

It just sounds "Right". I would expect when Jonesy has time to set it[ the system] up & to buy window treatments etc, there may  be some degree of improvement, but who knows?

Having heard it at mind /ear blowing levels [you know what happens at GTGs], it would be great to hear at long term listening levels. Perhaps the new pre will add some extra magic? Here's hoping :party

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Hi Steve,

 

Yep, I found them to sound more open, relaxed and "free" this time. No bass overloading issues like at the old place.    I reckon I could happily sit in the sweet spot and chill out to tunes for hours.

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I can help you with this, unlike Audio, Structural integrity is my specialty! ;-)

This is good to know Chanh ,I am heading to Seoul for Chinese New Year I have tracked down the Rockport and Magico distributor...... will pass on my findings how they compare to the EMs

Cheers

Jones

Edited by Jones99
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